Copier Fingers

Everyone has a talent. I don’t mean a skill or a qualification, I mean an innate talent. In many instances, people use that talent to help them in their work; in others, the talents is meaningless in any useful context. I think I may fall somewhere in between with mine.

I can ‘Xerox’ something with my bare hands. If I write something in a certain way, I can almost certainly replicate it – again and again. I’m not gonna forge anything with this, because the accuracy comes close, but not that close. If I create a typeface and write something, I can repeat ad nauseum. Over time the quality of the copy might degenerate a little, especially if I don’t keep the original close at hand. Also, I happily emulate the fonts in greetings cards, often with such accuracy that people have to ask me how I did it, or whether it was there to begin with.

Yes, I have to concentrate a lot – if I don’t the copy tends to be adequate rather than good. I guess that applies to anyone. If you have a talent for painting but your heart isn’t in it, you probably won’t be creating a masterpiece.

I just sat for almost two hours creating labels for my wife’s homemade jewellery and charms. In the process, I did several fonts and logo designs – all pretty rudimentary considering the timeframes involved – and I had to repeat them three, six or a dozen times. I grumbled. If I didn’t grumble, it wouldn’t be worth the effort. However, somewhere, deep down, I enjoy the whole process ‘cause I’m quite good at it.

If anyone can suggest a career path with high salary potential to which I might apply this skill, by all means leave me a comment with the details!

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One thought on “Copier Fingers”

Even a ‘Xerox’ copier can induce imperfections. I and a co-worker , who worked on another shift, would cut and paste images and messages on the Xerox (yes, it was a REAL Xerox), then leave them on each other’s desk. There were distortions of the original and imperfections because we would enlarge or shrink the copies to a single page. It was entertainment; a way to distract ourselves from the insipid boredom .

You’re not an automaton, so assembling widgets in the Ultra-Mega Widget factory is right out.

No, I think the underlying satisfaction is pleasing someone. Weather it’s creating a logo or font, or solving a complex mathematical equation, we derive a great deal of self-worth and pleasure helping our family and friends. But of course that doesn’t pay the fraking bills!